Share this:

Budget negotiations are plodding forward, although some are starting to doubt if this will happen on time, at least without a message of necessity from Gov. Cuomo.

A message of necessity would avoid the three-day waiting period between the time that budget bills are printed and lawmakers vote on them but the governor has previously said he doesn’t want to do that.

GOP leader Dean Skelos earlier Friday told reporters that as far as his conference was concerned, the budget was done, although Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was not at that mid-afternoon meeting. Earlier that morning Silver made something of a show about how he was still in town despite rumors to the contrary.

Minutes after Skelos left the governors chambers, IDC leader Jeff Klein said they are pushing ahead and remarked that $300 million was the ”magic number” suggesting there is still some difficulty coming up with that amount for New York City.

Another controversial issue that appears to be moving forward is charter school funding. Bill Phillips, president of the Northeast Charter Schools Network, says the budget appears to contain some good news for New York City schools but not so much for those upstate.

The good news is the agreement for New York City schools to provide free space to new and expanding charters, or to provide an additional 20 percent in per pupil funding to cover rent. “That’s a big win,” said Phillips.

The overall per-pupil formula is not so generous. Rather than a set formula which would rise steadily, as Cuomo initially wanted, the latest plan offers additional per pupil payments of $250, $250 and $500 in the next three years. That, however, suggests that charters could lose ground compared to their public school counterparts. Per-pupil funding for charters has remained flat for several years.

And with no building aid portion, other than the previously mentioned deal for New York City, the approximately 20 percent of charters upstate won’t do nearly as well since they pay rent rather than co-locate or share building space with existing public schools like they do in New York City.

Share this:

“Bill Phillips, president of the Northeast Charter Schools Network, says the budget appears to contain some good news for New York City schools but not so much for those upstate.”
>
SHOCKING! SHOCKING I SAY!

So, classic quid pro Cuomo, he sends legislative largess their way. Free rent, more per pupil spending, all the while state public school funding is static, and districts still reeling from several years of decreased funding.

NYC charter proponents could spend $3.4 MILLION plus on tv ads, and charter schools pay their directors and management organizations big bucks (Eva Moskowitz clears at least $475,000 in salaries from her varies schools and school management companies…. that we know of…)but no money to pay rent (or their teachers, who make peanuts).

Gov Cuomo instead negotiates for city giving Charters up to $40 million for rent if city can’t make room for them.

The State is at least 8 billion dollars behind in education spending, belts are tightening, and it looks like we’ll get this ridiculous mandate to fund charter rents.

It’s not the first time big campaign bucks rearranged Gov. Cuomo’s priorities. Remember the push for more casinos after he got money from gambling industry?

They apparently missed the report that came out today that New York State (primarily downstate) has the most segregated schools in the nation. Buffalo is probably looking forward to winning their claim on civil rights violations when it comes to funding formulas too. See Bill Moyer’s article today:

When are we north of Westchester County going to say enough. We are New York and At some point we need to come together and challenge those who represent the FBI raided offices of the representatives south of Westchester. Including their leader.

Both parties love charters even though the evidence shows they at best are only as good as public schools and in many cases not as good. Charters are a way to legally segregate. They can cherry pick who is admitted and have a track record of getting rid of students that don’t fit their mold. Instead of pushing an failed idea, Charters, the money should go to improving public schools that take all. Charters are nothing more than a scam to make their Wall Street investors more money. That’s why Wall Street is so generous to their political friends from both parties. They invest a relatively small amount for huge returns.

Charter schools are nothing but an attempt to privatize public schools and destroy teachers unions! Do we really need one more thing that for-profit corporations can destroy in the name of greed!
You have to love the way the slimy advocates are now referring to “public charter schools” in their specious TV adds.
When you can arbitrarily turn away students away, you are NOT a public school!

I wonder if the monies public schools won in past lawsuits is going to pay for downstate charters. It’s pretty ridiculous that legislators can’t do away with the GEA right here and now, but they can find money to pay for charter schools.

Every dollar spent on Charters, that are allowed to discriminate on student type, is a dollar stolen from Public schools that by rule, welcome all.
Defunding Public schools through this type of discrimination should not be permitted.

For all of you who still don’t know, charter schools ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. They deserve the same consideration as the existing dysfunctional traditional public schools you all seem to support. What a huge disappointment for upstate charters who are trying to do right by our children despite those who refuse to see the truth. They are trying to change the common failures that have been the norm for decades. Failure cannot be the norm any longer. Do right by ALL kids! Fight for change, not continued failure.

The idea that that “the rest of the state to pay[s] for their liberal spending at our expense” is a huge piece of misinformation, or as we say a “big lie.” A whopper!!! Have you no shame? The following is a quote from the Rockefeller Institute study:

If indeed it is better to give than receive, New York City and its suburbs can count their blessings by the billions of dollars. City residents and businesses paid about $4.1 billion more to Albany in taxes and fees than the state returned in spending for education, health care, transit and other services in 2009-10. For the nearby suburban counties (Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester), it was $7.9 billion more in taxes than came back in spending, a new Rockefeller Institute study finds.[1]

Where did the extra $12 billion go? North and west, up the Hudson River and along the Thruway corridor to Upstate regions that have struggled economically for much of the last half-century.

In fiscal 2010, the Upstate region generated less than 28 percent of the state’s taxes and other non-federal revenues (including SUNY tuition, lottery and other gambling profits, motor vehicle fees and so on). By contrast, Upstate received a much larger share of state-funded expenditures, 42 percent.

Charter schools are corrupt. Their supers get 2 3 or more times the amount of a public super WITHOUT having their teachers or students get NYS testing and they get public funds…. HOW CAN THIS BE FAIR? It is not. It is a corrupt plan to collapse the municipalities and to combine school districts. They move like magicians but they are really horrible at it. Get rid of all politicians who support charters.

About Capitol Confidential

Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.